The Isolation of Kahler
by JCurl9
Summary: Over a century after war decimated their planet, the Kahler remain in a state of self-inflicted isolationism, stagnating the progress of their once great scientific race. Seeing wasted potential in the Kahler, a young Trion decides to use his time machine to alter the course of history. Spoiler Alert: Based on events from "Doctor Who" and "Turlough and the Earthlink Dilemma"
1. Chapter 1

The ARTEMIS rocked back and forth across time zones as it skirted around Kahler's sun. Large jumps in time were much easier than little ones, so Turlough was only half paying attention to the controls as he manipulated them. The rest of his attention was focused on the second bedroom, and more specifically, how its sleeping occupant would react when she discovered where and when they were actually going. As if sensing his stare, the door slid open. Juras took one look at him and her eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"What have you been up to?" she demanded.

"What makes you think I've been up to something?" asked Turlough as innocently as he could muster (which honestly wasn't particularly innocent).

"You clearly haven't slept at all, and you look guilty," Juras accused.

"Not true," objected Turlough. And he was half-right: his face was well practiced at not looking guilty. But Juras wasn't looking at his face anymore; she was far more interested in the view screens. She frowned slightly, trying to recall why the approaching planet looked vaguely familiar. "Kahler," Turlough told her, since she'd find out eventually anyways.

"When?" asked Juras. Turlough turned his attention back to the controls, grinding to a fourth-dimensional stop while still moving towards the planet at the same speed. "Turlough," she insisted warningly.

"Until this moment any answer I gave would be meaningless," he pointed out. Under his breath he continued, "17,769."

"17,769?" Juras repeated, her voice growing louder with each syllable. "The year their war ended?"

"As ingenious as this vessel is, it's also relatively small, so there is no need to shout," replied Turlough. Juras sat on the control seat next to him. When she spoke again, it was in a much more pleasant and conversational—but somehow more frightening—tone.

"Why are we going to Kahler in 17,769?" she wanted to know.

"The Kahler were one of the most brilliant scientific races of all time," he explained. "Think of what they could have achieved had they not isolated themselves after the war. Over a century of self-imposed isolation from all other planets, and now we hardly spare them a thought: let alone think of them as technologically advanced."

"So you want to do what, exactly? Help them win the war?" Juras scoffed. "We're Imperial Clansmen: we don't fight wars. Turlough, you yourself faced exile rather than risk being forced to build weapons; and now you want to fight in a war that was won over a century ago? And even besides all that, you can't just go around changing history until it suits you. Time is not your playground!"

"Isn't it?" he countered. Then, collecting himself, he clarified, "What I meant was: we have the technology to alter time, so why not alter it for good? The Kahler have always been peaceful, scientific people, aside from this war; so I don't see how the harm could possibly outweigh the benefit in this case. And besides, it's not as though this is the first time we'll be altering history on a grand scale."

"Yes it is!" snapped Juras. Turlough rubbed his eyes. It was so easy to forget that Juras—this version of Juras—hadn't lived through those parallel realities; she never watched Trion turned into a charred, lifeless rock. "Turlough?" she asked softly, shaking him out of his haunting memories.

"Hm? Right, of course we haven't," he conceded, "but that doesn't make it wrong."

"You're thinking about it again, aren't you?" she deduced. Turlough opened his mouth to answer, but was interrupted by the Kahler docking station, requesting their landing authorizations.

"This is Trion, responding to the Kahler request for aid," Turlough replied, "Requesting permission to land." The Kahler on the other end went silent: presumably considering the validity of his statement.

"So Trion sent two young scientists to help them win a war that's ravaged their planet for almost a decade: is that the story we're going with?" Juras demanded. Biting back a grin, Turlough flipped a coin.

"Yes," he said, after checking the result of the coin flip. Then Turlough treated Juras to his most infectious smile. "Not scientists though," he amended, returning to the wheel. "Rather we're a reconnaissance party, sent to determine the extent of aid required."

"You've put a lot of thought into this," Juras observed. "So why is now the first I'm hearing of it?"

"Would you have agreed if I suggested it before now?" he challenged.

"Maybe," she said defiantly. Turlough raised his eyebrows incredulously. "One day you're going to have to start trusting me," Juras contended, rising from her seat. Turlough grabbed her hands, forcing her to meet his eyes.

"I do trust you," he told her sincerely. Juras didn't know what to say, so she just stared back at him until his cheeks reddened and he dropped his gaze.

"Our scans indicate your vessel contains two individuals and no weapons," the Kahler informed them over the radio. "Your claim is refuted by your lack of resources. Please remove your vessel from our airspace, or we will be forced to take military action against you."

"Kahler, we ask you to reconsider your decision," Turlough said. "We are two Imperial Clansmen of Total Science Knowledge of the Forty-Second Dynasty, Masters of Trion and the Eighteen Suns, Physical Rulers of the Galactic Core. We were sent to determine the type and degree of assistance that will be extended to you."

"And as you've seen, we have no weapons that could be used against you," Juras added. There was a long pause as the request was reconsidered.

"Trion, you have permission to land," the Kahler said. And so, Turlough and Juras were taken by surprise when the ARTEMIS was hit by a missile soon after they entered the atmosphere.


	2. Chapter 2

"You're gonna love the Kahler, Donna," said the Doctor, twisting the atom accelerator. "One of the most brilliant scientific races to ever exist."

"Oh great, so it'll be like talking to a whole planet of you," Donna deduced.

"Don't say that like it's a bad thing," he replied. "Anyway, the Kahler were so ingenious, they almost discovered time travel. Isn't that brilliant?"

"So why didn't they?" asked Donna.

"War broke out, devastated half the planet; and the whole society kind of crumbled after that," the Doctor told her. "But never mind that, because we're going to Kahler at its height: about fifty years before war broke out." The Doctor landed the TARDIS and pulled the parking brake. He and Donna shared a grin before dashing out the door.

They were greeted by the barrel of a gun.

"Doctor," Donna began, but the owner of the gun interrupted her.

"You will be assimilated," it informed them. The Doctor opened his mouth to reply with a clever threat, but he stopped when the cyberman's head was blasted off its shoulders. The Doctor and Donna turned to see a group of Kahler soldiers, guns still pointed at the decapitated cyberman.

"'Fifty years before the war broke out'?!" Donna mocked angrily.

"Not now, Donna," the Doctor said out of the corner of his mouth. Louder, he addressed the group, "Thank you for taking care of shiny here."

"You're very welcome, Clansmen. I hope you can return the favor when speaking to your leaders about what aid is required," one of the Kahler replied. He looked human, aside from a large green mark that engulfed half his face. "I am Kahler Dak."

"I'm the Doctor and this is Donna," said the Doctor. "I'm no expert, but I've heard that cybermen usually operate in large groups…"

"And ambassadors usually arrive via the official docking stations," Kahler Dak retorted with the barest hint of a grin. "We will escort you to the General."

"Oh. Thank you," the Doctor said as he and Donna were marched across the war-torn street. Quietly, he said to Donna, "So, I might have gotten the timing a bit off…"

"Do you think?" she hissed back.

"But this is much more exciting, isn't it?" he argued. Donna gave him a look that clearly communicated her disagreement. "These are the Kahler," the Doctor explained. "They're at war with the cybermen, which are cyborgs bent on converting the universe into more cybermen. I thought they could only convert humans, but apparently they've branched out to Kahler as well. Which makes sense really, since the biology is almost identical."

"Did you say they convert humans?" Donna demanded. "As in convert us into cybermen?"

"Don't worry: you'll be perfectly safe," he said.

"Because I'm a time traveler?" she guessed.

"…Okay, yes," lied the Doctor. Donna rolled her eyes.

"So why do they think we're ambassadors?" asked Donna, nodding at their escorts. "Ambassadors from where?"

"From the Clan," said the Doctor as though it were obvious.

"What clan?"

"Dunno," he admitted. "But they called us Clansmen, so clearly they're expecting someone from a clan of some sort. I think _the_ Clan sounds more official than _a_ clan, don't you?" The group stopped at a small building, and one of the Kahler entered a combination code to unlock the door.

"So what happens if the real Clansmen show up?" asked Donna.

"Oh, Vacuum Transport system! Isn't that brilliant?" exclaimed the Doctor, examining the large tube inside the building.

"A technology given to us by your planet during our centuries of knowledge sharing," Kahler Dak explained coolly. "Given our trade history, we had hoped for a quicker response to our request for aid, so you'll excuse my associates if they are less than amicable towards you."

"Right, well, er," mumbled the Doctor.

"Sorry," Donna added bluntly. Kahler Dak smiled.

"I don't share their animosity," he assured them. "Triic Clansmen are well known for their pacifism, so your presence here now is more than we should have expected. Although I can't say that everyone shares my empathy. I will go first to secure the area." With that, Kahler Dak stepped into the VT tube, entered his destination and was whooshed out of sight.

"Sorry, could you excuse my fellow Clanswoman and me for just a moment," said the Doctor, pulling Donna aside. "Something's wrong," he told her quietly. "He called us 'Triic Clansmen', which means they think we're from Trion."

"So?" asked Donna.

"Kahler Dak was right: Triic Clansmen are pacifistic to the point of complacence," he told her. "They've always refused to build any sort of weapons or assist in any wars. So why do the Kahler think two of them just showed up to help with their war effort?"

"Maybe the Trions changed their minds," Donna suggested.

"Maybe. Or maybe the cybermen are interested in something larger than just Kahler. Come on: better go meet the General," said the Doctor.

"The Captain was too generous in his explanation of our animosity," one of the other soldiers informed them. "Any aid, however belated, would be welcomed here. But it will take more than technobabble to convince me that you're from Trion."

"Who else would we be?" demanded Donna.

"I know exactly who you are," he growled. "It's no secret that we're losing, and Kahler High Command will do anything to prevent further desertion: even create false hope of assistance from nonexistent allies. If we had any true allies they'd have come and gone long ago. The Captain is a fool for believing you, but don't think the General will be so easily deceived." With that, the Kahler soldier entered the VT tube and was gone.

"Actually, Donna," suggested the Doctor, "maybe it wouldn't be wise for both of us to go."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning, if the cybermen are up to something, one of us should do some investigating around here," he reasoned.

"And that someone would be me I suppose," Donna guessed, making her disagreement very clear.

"Well, unless you know enough about intragalactic politics to convince the General that we're from Trion while simultaneously avoiding having any impact on this fixed point in time which states the Kahler received no extraplanetary assistance," he said. "Use this if you get into trouble," he added, handing her the sonic screwdriver.

"I'm not staying here," she maintained.

"Donna, this is going to be nothing but a boring meeting with some bull-headed soldiers who think their rank has graced them with military intelligence," the Doctor argued. "And I need you here in case the cybermen really are planning a secret attack."

"And what if they are?" she wondered. "What am I supposed to do?"

"Call me," he suggested. With an infectious grin, he stepped into the vacuum tube and was whooshed off to the Kahler Central Command Complex.

"But you don't even have a phone!" Donna shouted after him.


	3. Chapter 3

"Damage report," Turlough barked, trying to wrestle the wheel to center.

"Engine undamaged, but the whole starboard side has gone dark," Juras shouted back. They were spiraling downwards at such high speed they almost felt like they weren't spinning at all. This, of course, wreaked havoc on the system which was configured to convert angular momentum into temporal acceleration. Turlough strongly considered doing a time jump just to stabilize the vessel, but there was no telling where or when they'd end up. "It's going to go into overload if we don't expel some of the heat," Juras told him, as if she'd heard his thoughts.

"Can't time jump: too risky," he grunted, straining against the controls.

In a spark of brilliance, Juras pulled up the back flap, which sent them into a backwards somersault before it broke off entirely. With the flap torn off by the rushing air resistance, the muffler quickly followed, leaving the engine open to the air. Muons poured from their tank, taking kilojoules of heat with them. Turlough was finally able to wrest control of the ARTEMIS, and drag her upright in time for what could only be considered a crash landing.

"Muons' half-life means no radiation," Juras said between breaths. Turlough tried to laugh at the circumstantially absurd statement, but couldn't quite muster it. Instead he peeled his hands off the wheel and patted Juras on the head numbly.

"On the other hand, maybe the Kahler don't actually want our help," Turlough reasoned.

"You think the Kahler shot us down?" asked Juras.

"You don't?"

"After we offered to help?" she argued, shaking her head. "I think it was the cybermen."

"Ten minutes ago you were trying to talk me out of interfering," Turlough pointed out.

"We don't have much choice now: we've interfered," Juras contended. "So we may as well be in agreement on who the enemy is." Turlough forced a smile. Juras continued, "I suppose we should take the Runner out to collect our ship." Turlough made no further attempts at a smile.

"I suppose so," he reluctantly agreed.

They'd landed in a flat desert, so it didn't take long to realize their broken ship components were nowhere nearby. They didn't have enough spare parts to make the ARTEMIS space-worthy again, so they had little choice but to set off for their original destination: the capital city.

They stopped at the edge of a cliff overlooking the Kahler capital. Much to Turlough's angst, Juras insisted on lowering the top of the Runner and climbing out to survey the landscape.

"Why do you keep looking around like something's going to attack us?" Juras laughed. Turlough didn't answer, but he forced himself to stop glancing behind them. He really needed to stop expecting history to repeat itself, especially since that history never occurred in this universe.

"The city's better off than I expected," noted Turlough. With a few exceptions, the houses below were in pristine condition, aside from unkempt gardens.

"It's deserted," Juras argued.

"Yes, but without much of a struggle," he pointed out. "So maybe it was evacuated beforehand."

"Maybe," conceded Juras, biting her lip to hold back the rest of her thoughts. True, the Kahler Central Command complex in the city center was expansive, but Juras very much doubted they'd have gotten all the citizens into it before the cybermen struck. She didn't bring this up for fear of causing Turlough any more anxiety. Her friend had changed a lot since his exile, and not all of it was for the better. For the most part, he'd grown braver and—though she'd never admit it aloud—more handsome; but there was a darkness that seemed to follow him around, and he was…frightened wasn't really the right word for it. Ashamed, maybe?

Juras' thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of a small cybership. They heard the engines before they felt the rush of hot air that billowed out as it descended. It was unlikely the cybermen had noticed their presence, but if they had they couldn't have chosen a better place to land: the ship effectively cornered them against the sheer drop into the city. Juras wasn't sure if she grabbed hold of Turlough's hand, or if it was the other way around. Three cybermen disembarked and marched towards them.

"Halt!" ordered one of the cybermen, even though the two Clansmen were motionless. "You will be assimilated."

Juras considered running, but Turlough squeezed her hand tightly to hold her back. The cyberman approached them, and Turlough launched at it with all his strength.

"Run!" he shouted to Juras as he made a very futile attempt to tackle the cyberman. Juras hesitated only for a second, but it was enough time for a second cyberman to seize her. It was over so quickly, she barely caught a glimpse of Turlough losing his footing and tumbling over the side of the cliff.

"No!" shouted Juras, just before an explosion blossomed at the wall of the Kaler Central Command complex.


	4. Chapter 4

The streets were completely deserted, so Donna was having a lot of trouble believing this search would yield any results. She also strongly suspected the Doctor knew as much and just wanted her out of the way, which did nothing to improve her mood. She was about to turn back, when she heard a muffled groan from nearby.

"Hello?" she called.

"Juras!" shouted the stranger as if waking from a nightmare. Donna ran towards the voice and found its owner face-down at the bottom of a large embankment. He was making a somewhat pitiful attempt at rolling over, so Donna helped him into a seated position and leaned him back against the rocky embankment. He had red hair and bright blue eyes that were hastily scanning the area. He was in surprisingly good condition for someone who'd just fallen down a cliff: other than torn clothing and a mess of scrapes and bruises, he seemed perfectly intact.

"Are you alright?" asked Donna. The man seemed to have trouble focusing his gaze on her.

"English," he mumbled. Then he groaned, "Oh no! _Please_ don't tell me I'm on Earth!"

"What's wrong with being on Earth?" Donna demanded. The man ignored her, preferring to closely inspect some of the dirt and rocks he'd dragged down the cliff with him.

"No, can't be Earth," he reasoned, frowning at a violet stone. As if suddenly remembering Donna's presence, he looked up at her and asked, "Where am I?"

"Kahler," she told him. The man struggled to his feet with sudden urgency. "I don't think you should move," Donna protested.

"Shh!" he hissed.

"Don't you shush me!" snapped Donna.

"This place is crawling with cybermen," he pointed out, "so unless you want your brain transplanted into a machine, I suggest you keep your voice down."

"What are you doing?" Donna asked as the man tried climbing up the embankment, but ended up sliding back down.

"What's it look like?" he asked.

"There's an easier way up if you go around that way," she told him, pointing. The man's expression instantly softened. He stopped trying to climb the cliff, brushed the dirt off his hands and extended one towards her.

"Turlough," he said.

"What?"

"My name," he explained, "is Turlough. What's yours?"

"Donna Noble," she said, shaking his hand.

"Thank you, Donna Noble," said Turlough. "I apologize for my rudeness earlier; I am under a considerable amount of stress at the moment."

"Plus you just fell off a cliff," Donna reminded him.

"That too," Turlough grinned. "Would you mind showing me the easier way up?" Donna led him back the way she came, and pointed at a path that went up the side of the large hill. "Thank you, Donna," he said with finality, shaking her hand again before heading up the hill.

"Is that your way of telling me to shove off?" Donna wanted to know. Turlough laughed.

"I suppose so, yes," he admitted. "I'm not sure how long I've been out, but last I checked there's at least three cybermen at the top of this hill; so you probably don't want to follow me."

"So why are you going?" she asked. For the first time since she'd met him, the confidence slipped off his face, dragging his gaze with it.

"They took a friend of mine: Juras," he told her. "I have to get her back before…You see I promised myself I'd take care of her."

Turlough gave her a small smile before resuming his trek up the hill. Donna hesitated before following him. If Turlough was surprised by her persistence, he showed no sign of it. The hill steepened sharply, so neither one was inclined to make small talk while they climbed. All in all, it wasn't too long before they reached the summit, but that did little to soften the disappointment of finding nothing useful when they got there.

The absence of any plants, structures, and rock formations made it immediately apparent that the cyberman and Juras were long gone. Not only that, but someone had had the insight to commandeer the Runner: possibly for spare parts, but more likely to abandon its operator in the event that he'd survived the fall. Turlough hadn't held out too much hope for a functioning vehicle, but he'd thought they'd have simply destroyed it and moved on, which would've at least left him with some tools and possibly the navigation system that could home in on Juras' tracker. And there was something else too, something that didn't quite fit, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

"Now what?" asked Donna. Turlough promptly pushed his feelings to the back of his mind.

"There have to be footprints or some sort of clue as to what direction they went in," he reasoned, scanning the ground. It was hopeless really. Even the Runner's track marks were barely visible and quickly vanishing. The wind had already swept away their footprints from the climb up the hill, let alone the ones that were made goodness-knows-how-long ago. Turlough considered asking Donna for the date and time, but since he wasn't certain when they'd arrived it wouldn't really help him determine how long he'd been unconscious. He straightened abruptly, staring at Donna as if seeing her for the first time.

"What?" she asked, checking behind herself. "Is there something on my back?"

"Sorry, I've just realized it must be the mid-1800s in Earth-years," said Turlough.

"So?"

"_So_ humans won't even make it to their own moon for at least another century. So, how did you get here?" he wondered.

They were interrupted by an explosion below. Turlough ran to the cliff's edge to look.

"It's the big building in the middle," Donna told him. "It's been going on for about half an hour." There was a massive hole in the Kahler Command Center's outer wall, and the latest explosion appeared to have cleared the way through the inner wall. Cybermen were marching through the opening before the smoke even cleared.

"Kahler Central Command Complex," Turlough noted.

"Sounds posh," commented Donna.

"It's where all the high-ranking military officers are," he explained, "generals and the like."

"Oh my god!" exclaimed Donna. With that, she took off half-running, half-sliding down the embankment.

Turlough stared after her in bewilderment. The sound of heavy, metal footsteps drew his gaze to the once-busy city center directly below. A legion of cybermen was making its way out of the assorted houses, towards the Command Center. Turlough hesitated. Donna was going to run straight into them, but his primary concern was Juras. Still, he wasn't making any progress atop this cliff; and anyways it seemed his legs were already running after Donna before his mind could make a decision.

Turlough was still stumbling off the incline when he tackled Donna to the ground. Fortunately, he had the foresight to cover her mouth before she broke into a tirade against him. She struggled with all her might, and Turlough was having some trouble holding her down. With his hand still firmly clamped over her mouth, he also managed to plug her nose. If anything, the lack of oxygen made Donna fight harder, but it did succeed in quieting her down long enough to hear the cybermen marching nearby. After a moment, she stopped struggling. Turlough hesitated before tentatively uncovering her nose and mouth. Once satisfied she wasn't going to start shouting or take off running, he rolled off her and helped her to her feet. He put a finger to his lips, to which Donna rolled her eyes pointedly.

Turlough motioned for her to follow and together they crept towards a nearby house. The back door was locked, and forcing it open wasn't an option with the cybermen marching on the other side of the row homes. The next house down also had a locked door, but an unlocked window. Neither one liked the prospect of waiting in the open, so Turlough gave Donna a boost up through the window. She landed on the floor with a thud that made Turlough wince. After that, there was silence. For an agonizing moment he thought she'd abandoned him, but then he heard the lock slide back and he let out a breath, not realizing he'd been holding it. Once Donna let him in, he re-bolted the door, closed the window and joined her in staring anxiously towards the cyborgs marching outside. After their hearts stopped beating so loudly, the pair realized they couldn't actually hear the cybermen anymore.

"Are they gone?" Donna whispered. Turlough shook his head.

"I don't think so," he said. "Sound-proof walls. Amazing builders, the Kahler."

"Everyone's so impressed with the Kahler," Donna noted with annoyance. "Do the cybermen really transplant people's brains into machines?"

"They call it 'upgrading'," he grimaced. "What possessed you to come down here?"

"My friend's in that building," she told him.

"We'll have to wait until this lot passes before we go anywhere," reasoned Turlough.

He then began searching the room, careful to stay out of view of the front windows. He collected an assortment of objects, setting them on the table in no particular order. Donna began looking around as well. Under the table was a doll with a green mark on its face and only one arm. She dropped to her knees to pick it up. Meanwhile, Turlough worked on prying open what might have been a dishwasher, or possibly a stove.

"This was someone's home," Donna said quietly. Turlough didn't even look up from his work.

"Probably," he said. "See if you can find anything useful under the sink." When Donna didn't move—still holding tightly to the doll—Turlough paused and turned towards her. His eyes scanned her without emotion. "Try not to think about it," he suggested.

"How can you be so heartless?" she wanted to know. He scowled, resuming his disassembly of the appliance. "Sorry," she added.

"Whoever she was: she's gone, Donna," said Turlough flatly. "Either killed or converted. There's nothing we can do about that now, and we need to focus on what we _can_ do."

"Like stealing kitchen supplies?" scoffed Donna.

"And turning them into something useful to use against the cybermen," Turlough explained. "What are_ you_ doing?"

"Not helping you build a bomb: that's for sure," she declared.

"I would never build a bomb," he said, clearly insulted by the accusation. "When Juras was taken, she was wearing a tracker, like this one," he explained, showing Donna the watch-like tracker on his arm. "I'm trying to assemble a rudimentary scanner that can home in on the tracker's signal. I'll probably need to take mine apart to get the right frequency…See if you can find a screwdriver, or even a hammer."

Donna obediently went in search of tools. She found a toolbox under the stairs and brought it over to him. Turlough thanked her and used the tools to disassemble his tracker.

"You never answered my question," he said after a while.

"What question?"

"How did you get here?" he asked.

"How did _you_ get here?" Donna retorted.

"I flew here in a spaceship I modified into an ARTEMIS," said Turlough.

"I came here in a time machine called the TARDIS," she told him.

"Might I ask whose TARDIS?" he asked, hardly daring to hope his intuition was right.

"Well it's not like there's more than one," laughed Donna. "I'm traveling with the Doctor." That's what he'd been hoping for, because if anyone could help him get Juras back, it was the Doctor. But Turlough was too distracted by Donna's first sentence to feel any relief.

"What did you just say?" he asked.

"I'm traveling with the Doctor," Donna repeated.

"No before that: you said there's not more than one TARDIS," Turlough reminded her. "Why did you say that?"

"Because it's true," she said slowly. It occurred to her that he may be misunderstanding what a TARDIS was, so she began to explain, "The TARDIS is this time machine that's bigger on the inside."

"I know what a TARDIS is," snapped Turlough.

"Sorry," said Donna sarcastically.

Turlough scoured his brain for all the possible explanations for Donna's comment. The first one that came to mind was that maybe the alternate universe he'd crossed into had more differences than he'd thought. But he had to discount that idea because the Magician came with him to this universe in a TARDIS while his other self was still traveling that universe in the Doctor's TARDIS, so logically there were at least two. Not to mention, Juras would have reacted much differently to his stories about his adventures in the Doctor's TARDIS if it were the only one.

The next possibility Turlough thought of was the most probable: the Doctor had lied to Donna for reasons of his own. Perhaps he'd gotten into more trouble with Gallifrey and invented an elaborate lie to satisfy Donna's curiosity about why they never traveled there. Confident as he was that this was the best explanation, Turlough's scientific mind wouldn't let the matter rest.

"Surely the Time Lords could grow more TARDISes," he reasoned.

"What Time Lords?" asked Donna. They shared a moment of mutual confusion before Donna realized, "Don't you know about the Time War?"

"Evidently not," Turlough replied.

"There was a war between the Time Lords and the daleks," Donna explained. "It destroyed Gallifrey and…well, the Doctor's the only one left now."

"Donna, how could the Doctor have survived when no one else did?" asked Turlough reasonably, assured in his assertion that the Doctor had lied to her.

"I don't know: he doesn't really talk about it," said Donna. Turlough opened his mouth to reply when she continued, "One time I asked him how he escaped, and at first he said he didn't really escape; then he said he survived 'because of the Moment'…whatever that means."

It was then that the truth hit Turlough so hard it knocked the wind out of him. He'd heard rumors about the Time Lords' "secret weapon" called "The Moment"; but they were just rumors. And there were so many rumors about Gallifrey he'd never thought twice about it. But Donna couldn't have heard those rumors, so there'd be no reason for the Doctor to include it in an elaborate fabrication. Not to mention, state secrets aren't typically used to add credibility to a story. But how could it be true? The Doctor would never condemn a whole planet like that—allow it to burn of its own accord, maybe—but never pull the trigger himself. Only once in the entire time Turlough knew him did the Doctor ever even consider murder as a viable option and that was…actually, come to think of it, that was when they were fighting the daleks.

"Turlough?" asked Donna, nudging him out of his reverie. "You alright?"

"Yes, of course," he lied. "I'm always alright."

"Now you sound like the Doctor."

"Thanks," smiled Turlough, finishing his makeshift locator. "Now then, assuming the cybermen have all made it to the complex by now, I suggest we follow them."

"You're coming with me?" asked Donna in surprise. "What about your friend?"

"As luck would have it…" Turlough said, grinning at the data displayed on his locator.


	5. Chapter 5

Juras was frightened. She was also quite cross with Turlough for getting her into this situation, but not so cross that she wouldn't have been thrilled to see him blundering in to rescue her. That said, for someone who was currently at the mercy of the cybermen, Juras was really quite fortunate. Shortly after they'd captured her, the cybermen had broken through the doors of a very important-looking building; and they were far more interested in that than in their captive. So instead of being taken to a conversion station, Juras was handcuffed and thrown in the back of their vehicle which made its bumpy way towards the Kahler building. She itched to sit upright and get a better look at her predicament, but since the cybermen seemed to almost have forgotten her presence, she thought it best to lie still and hope they left her alone in the runner when they marched into battle.

The cybermen may indeed have forgotten her entirely, or they may have simply not needed bodies enough to concern themselves with her safety. Either way, the runner—along with Juras and her captors—drove straight through the hole in the wall and into the Kahler stronghold. They were instantly under fire. It didn't take Juras long to decide to trust her fate to poor marksmanship rather than six cybermen, so she readied herself for the inevitable bounce of running over something; and when it came she pushed off with as much force as her bound legs could muster. She barely made it out of the runner, and from there she used the momentum of falling to roll herself as far away as possible.

Now, of course, she was stranded in the middle of a battleground with her hands and feet cuffed, and several legions of cybermen marching down the corridor she was lying in. Getting crushed by cybermen was better than becoming one, but Juras would rather do neither. She tried to roll herself to safety, but fallen rubble and smoke bombs made her efforts futile. Finally, Juras decided to try something entirely new.

"Help!" she screamed. "Help me, please!" Much to her surprise, a loud sort of buzzing noise came from somewhere behind the smoke as if in response to her pleas. The cuffs on her wrists and ankles sparked, then opened. Juras wasted no time marveling at this little miracle, and instead rose to a crouch and ran towards the general direction of the buzzing noise. She only made it a few steps before something grabbed her arm. She screamed instinctively, and struggled to get away.

"Quiet! This way: run!" hissed the stranger. Juras shook off her panic and followed him through the smoke. He led her down a side corridor, away from the fighting. "Are you alright?" he asked, checking her for apparent injuries.

"I'm fine," said Juras, catching her breath. "You got me out of the cuffs," she realized. "Thank you."

"Well I couldn't very well leave you there," he reasoned. "I'm the Doctor, by the way; what's your name?"

"The Doctor?" she repeated, as if not certain how to pronounce the words.

"No, _I'm_ the Doctor: that's me; I asked for _your_ name," he said with a cheeky grin. Juras' brain caught up with the rest of her and she collected herself.

"Juras Maateh," she told him. "Sorry about that. Bit of shock: being captured by the cybermen and all. So you're the Doctor? _The_ Doctor?"

"Yep, that's me," said the Doctor. "No need to keep carrying on about it."

"I thought you'd be more…" Juras began, but stopped herself. She had gotten here by traveling back in time; and so, presumably, had the Doctor. This meant it was very possible she was now interfering with Turlough's time stream. If the Doctor hadn't met Turlough yet, then Juras could potentially say or do something to prevent them from ever meeting; and then Turlough may never have made it back to Trion. Or worse still: a younger version of Turlough could be traveling with him right now and risk meeting his older self. That, Juras decided, was highly unlikely since Turlough would never have taken that sort of risk by coming here.

"More what?" the Doctor wondered. "And more to the point, who told you about me?"

Juras thought quickly. There had to be a way for her to find out where the Doctor was in his time stream without giving anything away. According to Turlough, the Doctor was always stumbling into apocalyptical situations, rescuing people and planets; so perhaps she could reference one of the ones she knew of and see if he recognized it. Furthermore, vanity was known to be characteristic of most Time Lords, so she could probably use that to her advantage as well.

"Lots of people talk about you," she said. "Is it true that you once saved a whole planet from a volcano with help from an obstinate red-head?"

"Yep," grinned the Doctor. "Quite recently actually. Well, I say recently. Time travel: it's all wibbly-wobbly. Come to think of it, how did you even hear about that all the way out here?" Juras shrugged and put on her widest eyes.

So that was settled then. The Doctor and Turlough were in approximately the same place in their respective time streams. Both had just recently rescued the people of Sarn and assured their safe return to Trion. Even so, the Doctor probably wouldn't approve of Turlough having built a time machine, so Juras decided it was best to keep that knowledge under the rug for the time being.

Metal footsteps clanged towards them. The Doctor and Juras looked up into the barrel of a cyber-blaster.

"Run," suggested the Doctor.

Juras, however, had taken a few precautions with her before exiting the ARTEMIS; one of which was a taser. She jabbed it into the cyberman's foot, electrocuting it before it could get a shot off.

"Nice one," the Doctor noted. "Come on."

He grabbed her hand and pulled her further down the corridor. They ran through the complex until the sounds of battle began to be muffled.

"Now what?" asked Juras when they stopped to catch their breaths.

"Now you tell me who you are and what you're doing here," said the Doctor.

"What?" she asked. "I already told you: my name's—"

"Juras Maateh, I get that: that's not what I'm asking," he interrupted. "When Donna and I first landed, the Kahler thought we were Triic Clansmen: an idea that must have come from you. So I'll ask again: who are you and what are you doing here?"

"I'm Juras Maateh, Imperial Clanswoman of Total Science Knowledge of the Forty-Second Dynasty, Masters of Trion and the Eighteen Suns, Physical Rulers of the Galactic Core," she informed him. "I'm here to help the Kahler in their war effort."

"I have to hand it to you: _that_ was almost convincing," said the Doctor.

"It's the truth," Juras insisted.

"It's really not," he contended. "Because I've studied the Trions: they're peaceful to the point of indolence. Trion can't even produce an effective assassin!" For some reason this last comment seemed to amuse him greatly. "The point is Triic Imperial Clansmen don't fight wars."

"That's what _I_ said!" exclaimed Juras.

"To whom?" the Doctor wondered.

"It doesn't matter," she said quickly.

"Of course it matters," he argued. Juras decided to try something she'd picked up from Turlough. She dropped her gaze and let her voice fall to barely above a whisper.

"No, it doesn't," she insisted as if struggling to keep her voice steady, "not anymore."

"I'm sorry," said the Doctor, laying a hand on her shoulder. "I'm so sorry."

She instantly regretted this deception, since the Doctor seemed genuinely distraught on her behalf. But she couldn't very well change her story now, having just gained his confidence.

"Anyways," said Juras, putting on her bravest smile, "how do we stop the cybermen?"

"Oh, you're the mastermind here: you tell me," the Doctor said. Juras hesitated. She had, of course, already thought of several plans of attack; but she still wasn't convinced that they should be interfering at all. On the other hand, if a Time Lord was interfering, perhaps it was alright for her to do the same.

"We could setup an energy barrier," she suggested. "A low power-setting would allow organic objects to pass through unhindered, but would short out electrical circuits and stop most laser pulses."

"And what of the cybermen that are already in the complex?" asked the Doctor.

"All along the ceiling are transmitters—probably for public announcements—so in theory we could send out a signal through those to knock them out," said Juras. "The Kahler soldiers can handle it from there."

"Oh we can do one better than that," the Doctor realized, scanning one of the transmitters with his sonic screwdriver. "The complex is running on emergency power, enough to sustain an energy barrier, but not enough to create one. But, if we reverse the polarity of these transmitters we can absorb energy instead of emitting it."

"We could suck the energy out of the cybermen and use it to power the energy barrier!" Juras concluded. "That's brilliant! …Only, wouldn't they have to be connected to the grid for that to work?"

"You're forgetting about the cybermats," he said.

"The what?" she asked. The Doctor eyed her confused expression with interest.

"You don't know?" the Doctor realized. No one would have sent her here without such basic knowledge of cyber-operations; so it was almost as if she'd arrived as accidentally as the Doctor.

"I would if you explained," Juras pointed out irritably.

"They're like little metal rats that latch onto power sources, drain them of energy, and transmit that energy back to the cybermen," he explained. "As soon as they broke through that wall they sent in hundreds of cybermats to drain the power."

"Right then," said Juras. "We need to find the primary communications controls and the primary power station."

"And hope they're not too far apart," added the Doctor, "or one of us will have to grow an extra set of hands to rig the transmitters while the other one prepares the energy barrier."

"If you've got a better plan I'd love to hear it," she retorted.


	6. Chapter 6

By the time Turlough and Donna entered the Kahler Central Command complex, the battle had moved far beyond the entrance.

"Where is everyone?" Donna wondered.

"Lucky for us the cybermen are systematic," replied Turlough. "They've killed everything in this zone so there's no reason to leave troops behind."

"They've killed _everyone_?!" Donna exclaimed.

"Or forced them to retreat," Turlough suggested, glancing at her face.

"The sooner we find the Doctor, the better," she said.

They followed the tracker's signal along path of carnage in silence. There wasn't much danger of being discovered, but neither one felt much like talking amid the wreckage. When they passed corpses too damaged for the cybermen to convert, Turlough relieved them of their guns and ammo.

"Here," he said, passing one of the guns to Donna.

"No thank you," she replied coolly. They continued on for a while longer before Donna felt compelled to ask, "How do you know about the Doctor?"

"I used to travel with him," he told her.

"No really, how?" Donna insisted.

"Why don't you believe me?" asked Turlough.

"For one thing, you're carrying a gun," she pointed out.

"And for another?"

"You're not exactly his type," she said.

"I don't doubt that," he conceded, "but what's carrying a gun got to do with it?"

"The Doctor doesn't approve of guns. And if you really traveled with him you'd know that."

"I've seen the Doctor fire guns on several occasions," Turlough countered. Before Donna could argue, he pointed at a small black panel at the bottom of the wall. "Now where do you suppose that goes?"

"You mean that little black box?" asked Donna skeptically.

"It's a vid-scanner lock," he explained, "like an eye-scanner, but probably programmed to accept specific Kahler markings. This must be a door," he reasoned, knocking on the floor beside the scanner. "A very well-hidden door. I wonder what they're hiding down there."

"Let's open it and find out," suggested Donna.

"The Kahler are geniuses: it would take weeks to hack, if not months," Turlough scoffed. "So unless you—" he broke off when Donna dangled the sonic screwdriver in front of his face. "Is that what I think it is?"

"You spaceboys are all the same," she commented. Grinning, Turlough sonic'ed the vid-scanner, and an opening appeared in the floor beside it. A muffled scream came from somewhere in the darkness below. "After you," said Donna pointedly.

What looked like a deep, dark hole turned out to be a well-disguised platform a few meters down. Once inside, the opening above them sealed itself shut. Turlough instantly recognized the interior of a VT station; but instead of a control panel for entering coordinates, there was just a single button. He pressed it, and they were whooshed off to some unknown destination.

"Where are we?" asked Donna as they emerged from the Vacuum Tube.

"Some sort of underground laboratory from the looks of it," he guessed.

"It looks more like a hospital," she observed. Again the air was filled with screams: this time quite close by.

"Unfortunately we might both be right," said Turlough. "We should go back."

"You were the one who wanted to come down here," Donna pointed out, leading the way down the corridor. Reluctantly, Turlough followed, keeping his gun cocked and ready.

It didn't take long to find the source of the screaming. The wails were coming from behind a steel-enforced door, along with sounds of heavy machinery. Turlough tried to sonic the door, but it was deadlocked. Meanwhile, Donna peered through the small window in the door of a nearby room. She barely stopped herself from screaming as she stumbled away from the sight.

"What is it?" whispered Turlough.

"It's one of them: one of the Kahler," she whispered back. "You said they took out people's brains: you never said what they do to the rest of them!"

Turlough scrambled to his feet and ran to the window to see. Inside was a Kahler soldier: recognizable only by his general body-structure and the green mark on his face. The skin around what should have been his right eye was stapled to a dalek-like eyepiece. His chest was embedded with metal plating, and tubes were pumping some sort of liquid into his stomach and veins. One of his arms was completely torn off and replaced with a gun. He was being suspended from the ceiling by a shoulder-harness, and under his feet was a pan collecting something dripping from one of the tubes in his body: something that looked very much like blood mixed with oil.

"The cybermen could come out here any second," hissed Donna, dragging Turlough away from the door.

They ran back to the VT station, and didn't speak again until they were sitting safely in the war-torn corridors of the aboveground complex. The two red-headed time travelers leaned against the wall, breathing heavily.

"Why are the cybermen performing experiments on the Kahler?" Donna wondered. "Why not make them all into more cybermen?"

"It's not the cybermen," said Turlough, shaking his head.

"What's not?"

"Donna, don't you see? The cybermen couldn't have a secret lab locked by a visual recognition system: they all look the same," he said.

"Well obviously they have one," Donna pointed out. Turlough wasn't listening.

"I came here because the Kahler had potential; I didn't want the galaxy to be robbed of their genius, scientific minds," he said, mostly to himself. "History books always said they were peaceful. I never imagined they'd be capable of this. I never should've come here. Donna, if I succeeded—if the Kahler decide not to isolate themselves after the war—these monsters could be unleashed on the universe."

"You mean the cyborgs down there?" she asked.

"No, the people who created them!" exclaimed Turlough.

"Are you saying the Kahler did that to their own people?!" Donna realized.

"I was too arrogant: I thought I could change things for the better," Turlough continued. "Because I have before; and the Doctor always meddled without recourse. But Juras was right: I've gone too far."

"Listen, there's no sense in beating yourself up about it," said Donna gently. "And anyways, I don't think you've had that big of an effect."

"What do you mean?"

"Earlier, when the Doctor and I were pretending to be you, the Kahler didn't really believe us," she said. "That is, they thought the whole thing was invented by the High Council to raise morale. One of them believed your story, but none of the others seemed to."

"I don't think I've ever been so happy to have failed at something," noted Turlough. "And if I really did make a difference, the Doctor will know how to fix it."

"Turlough," Donna began, but stopped herself. "Never mind; it's nothing."

"Tell me."

"When I first met the Doctor we went to Pompeii," she told him.

"Pompeii?" repeated Turlough. The word sounded vaguely familiar.

"It's this city on Earth that was destroyed by a volcano," said Donna. "We were there sort of on accident; and the whole time the Doctor kept saying we couldn't interfere because it was a fixed point in time. It's a long story, but in the end he had to make it happen. And the thing is, he couldn't do it: not without my help. And the Doctor said this war on Kahler is another fixed point."

"Are you saying we shouldn't tell him what we found out?" asked Turlough.

"No," Donna said. "Well, I dunno. If he can't do anything to stop it…"

"We can decide later," Turlough said after some thought. "We have to find him first, and Juras."

"How far away is she?" asked Donna. Turlough checked his tracker and relaxed into a smile.

"Not far," he said.


End file.
